Limitations of the Malthusian population theory in developing countries
- It assumes constant technology which is unrealistic since technology is ever changing/technological progress occurs.
- It assumes a closed economy, yet economies of most LDCs are open economies. He ignored the roles of international trade
- Agricultural modernization is not foreseen by the theory yet this takes place in most LDCs.
- Failure of the theory to visualize labour mobility
- Population growth does not depend on food alone.
- The theory is based on the subsistence economy yet LDCs economies are not predominantly subsistence any longer.
- The theory did not foresee great improvement in transport.
- It did no fore see the possibility of getting foreign aid/Resource from other countries.
- There is no mathematical relation regards growth in food and population.
- The theory ignored the deliberate and scientific methods of birth control/modern family planning methods.
- It did not realize that rising living standards can cause a fall in birth rates and population.
- It ignored the possibility emigration to ease pressure on resources.
- Malthus was influenced by the law of diminishing returns which is not always true/which only operates in the short run.
- Negative checks suggested by him are unrealistic due to human behaviour.
CATEGORIES Economics
TAGS Dr. Bbosa Science
